Page 49 of Teacakes & Tangos
It was the ‘Xander Effect’, I decided.
He always seemed to lift me, whatever mood I happened to be in...
*****
Dancing in the dark was such great fun, as soon as it ended, I wanted to do it all over again.
Lydia, who was leading the session, was friendly and bubbly, dressed in sporty pink and purple Lycra, and she welcomed us all to the session with a beaming smile.
‘Okay. Dancing with the lights off isyourtime to let go of all the stresses and strains of the day. It’s your chance to ditch all of those inhibitions and just move to your own rhythm in any way that inspires you. So make the most of it, ladies and gents! I’ll be busting some moves with you, of course.’ She demonstrated, arms and legs flailing in all directions for comic effect, which made everyone laugh. ‘See what a rubbish dancer I am? But I really don’t care because when I’m here, I candance like...’ Sheraised her arms for us to join in and we all chanted, ‘no one is watching!’
She grinned. ‘You probably won’t believe this, but I used to be painfully shy. Wouldn’t say boo to a goose. But then I discovered dance and the self-confidence it can give you. And we could probably all do with a bit more of that, right?’
A ripple of amused agreement went round the room.
‘Right, let’s get these lights off and start moving!’
If I’d had any reservations about being able to lose my inhibitions, after several beats of the first track I knew I’d be fine.
Classic dance-floor fillers followed one after the other – from Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’ to Bruno Mars’ ‘Uptown Funk’; from Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ to Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’.
When we got to the opening bars of Chaka Khan’s ‘I’m Every Woman’, a spontaneous cheer went up. Everyone was clearly well into the whole experience and rivulets of perspiration were now trickling so relentlessly down my face, I realised it wasn’t just the Zumba class who’d be needing the showers!
When the session ended, Maddy – red-cheeked and also sweating copiously – came over and presented me with a fluffy towel and we headed straight to the changing room. And by the time I arrived in the café for my induction, I was feeling thoroughly energised and my cheeks were glowing.
When Xander walked in a little later, Maddy was taking me through the electronic intricacies of the till. He raised a hand but was clearly not about to disturb us, and I threw him a brief smile.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clara take his order and I could see her splitting two teacakes and putting them in the industrial-size toaster.
I smiled to myself.
Xander’s all-time favourite snack.
Teacakes slathered in butter. No jam required.
A short while later, my induction finished, I met Xander in reception and we walked out to his car.
‘I haven’t seen your place yet,’ I said as we set off to the supermarket to buy food for dinner. ‘We could eat there if you like?’
‘Sorry?’ He looked a bit taken aback.
I shrugged. ‘I’m just being nosy. I love seeing other people’s houses.’
‘Right.’ He smiled and nodded.
‘So what do you think?’
‘About what?’
‘About showing me your flat?’ I shrugged. ‘I mean, you don’t have to. I just thought... you know. You can tell a lot about a person by seeing how they live.’
He grimaced. ‘Can you?’
I laughed. ‘There’s no need to look so horrified! Tell you what, we’ll just go to mine tonight and you can show me aroundchez Xandersome other time, okay?’
‘Okay. It’s just – well, your place is closer.’
‘That’s true. And not having wheels, it would be tricky for me getting home afterwards. I could drive Dad’s car, of course, but the clutch is a bit temperamental and I’m always scared I’m going to burn it.’
